TY - JOUR
T1 - Concerns of Family Caregivers during COVID-19
T2 - The Concerns of Caregivers and the Surprising Silver Linings
AU - Lightfoot, Elizabeth
AU - Moone, Rajean
AU - Suleiman, Kamal
AU - Otis, Jacob
AU - Yun, Heejung
AU - Kutzler, Courtney
AU - Turck, Kenneth
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation, University of Minnesota [N/A].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on older people around the world. As family caregivers provide a good portion of the care for older people, their lives have been drastically altered by COVID-19 too. Our study is an in-depth exploration of the greatest concerns of family caregivers in the United States during COVID-19, as well as their perspectives on the benefits of caregiving during this global pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 52 family caregivers in the United States between May and September of 2020 over video conferencing using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic analysis was conducted to ascertain our participants’ perceptions. Caregiver’s concerns were organized into six main themes, including social isolation, decline in mental health, decline in physical and cognitive functioning, keeping their family members safe from COVID-19, lack of caregiving support, and caregiving stress. The themes related to the benefits of caregiving during COVID-19 included: enjoyed the slower pace, increased time to spend together, deepened relationships, recognizing the resilience of family members, and caregiving innovations. Our in-depth study helps social workers understand the nature of caregiving stress during COVID-19, as well as the positive aspects of caregiving, even during a global pandemic.
AB - COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on older people around the world. As family caregivers provide a good portion of the care for older people, their lives have been drastically altered by COVID-19 too. Our study is an in-depth exploration of the greatest concerns of family caregivers in the United States during COVID-19, as well as their perspectives on the benefits of caregiving during this global pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 52 family caregivers in the United States between May and September of 2020 over video conferencing using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic analysis was conducted to ascertain our participants’ perceptions. Caregiver’s concerns were organized into six main themes, including social isolation, decline in mental health, decline in physical and cognitive functioning, keeping their family members safe from COVID-19, lack of caregiving support, and caregiving stress. The themes related to the benefits of caregiving during COVID-19 included: enjoyed the slower pace, increased time to spend together, deepened relationships, recognizing the resilience of family members, and caregiving innovations. Our in-depth study helps social workers understand the nature of caregiving stress during COVID-19, as well as the positive aspects of caregiving, even during a global pandemic.
KW - coronavirus
KW - Informal care
KW - long-term care
KW - positive aspects of caregiving
KW - residential
KW - stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102829679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85102829679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01634372.2021.1898512
DO - 10.1080/01634372.2021.1898512
M3 - Article
C2 - 33724169
AN - SCOPUS:85102829679
SN - 0163-4372
VL - 64
SP - 656
EP - 675
JO - Journal of Gerontological Social Work
JF - Journal of Gerontological Social Work
IS - 6
ER -